The P8Z77 WS
is ASUS latest Workstation motherboard for Intels Ivy Bridge processors. Therefore it's able to score with a long featurelist. Typical for ASUS workstation motherboard are for example the four full size PCI-Express slots. Therefore it is possible to setup a quad SLI or quad CrossFireX system. 
The P8Z77 WS belongs to the high end motherboards regarding ASUS lineup for Intels Ivy Bridge CPUs. Therefore we're really curious what they've done from the layout and design perspective.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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Specifications / Delivery
| CPU | Intel Socket 1155 2nd and 3rd Generation |
| Chipset | Intel Z77 |
| Memory | Dual Channel DDR3, 4 x DIMM, Max. 32 GB DDR3, 2800 (OC) / 2600 (OC) / 2400 (OC) / 2200 OC / 2133 (OC) / 1866 (OC) / 1600 / 1333 / 1066 Non-ECC,Un-buffered |
| Multi-GPU | |
| Slots |  |
| Sound | Realtek ALC898 8-Channel HD Audio Codec |
| Storage | Intel Z77 chipset Marvell PCIe 9128 controller ASMedia PCIe SATA controller: |
| LAN | |
| Internal Connectors | |
| External Connectors | |
| Forfactor | ATX (30.5cm x 24.4cm) |
| BIOS | Bios (64 Mb flash ROM, EFI AMI BIOS) |
- User's manual
- I/O Shield
- 2 x SATA 3Gb/s cable
- 4 x SATA 6Gb/s cable
- 1 x 3-Way SLI bridge
- 1 x 4-Way SLI bridge
- 1 x SLI bridge
- 1 x Q-connector (2 in 1)
Regarding the delivery you'll find everything you need. There is even a 3-way as well as a 4-way SLI bridge. Unfortunately there is no CrossFire bridge.
Features
| EPU | If you activate the EPU this chip monitors all possible voltages and clock speeds and automatically sets them to guarantee an energy efficient operation of you system. |
| TPU | As soon as one activates the TPU this chips monitors all possible voltages and clock speeds using the according software. The difference to the EPU is that TPU will provide as much performance as possible. Therefore it can increase clock speeds and voltages. |
| Digital Power Design | Meanwhile ASUS also provides its boards with digital power designs. Using the the right software, in this case ASUS DIGI+ VRM Utility it is not only possible to adjust voltages while being in Windows one can now also control impedances. Furthermore a digital power design causes less electromagnetic emmission therefore there will be less inteference which can cause instability under certain circumstances. |
| PCI Express 3.0 | The ASUS P8Z77 WS already has PCI-Express 3.0 support onboard. Therefore from this point of view the board is ready for Ivy Bridge processors. |
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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Layout
Already at a first glance the ASUS P8Z77 WS looks very good with it harmonic design. The colors look suite nicely and the different blue tones on a black PCB are calming. The layout itself is well thought and there is for example plenty of space around the CPU socket to install even todays largest CPU coolers.
ASUS equipped the P8Z77 WS with a 16+4+2 phase VRM design whereas the CPU can rely on 16 phases, the integrated graphics unit gets four phases and the memory gets its own two phases. Furthermore ASUS put a digital power design on the board, which comes meanwhile in the third generation. With their digital power design they promise that it emits less electromagnetic radiation than its analogue counterpart. Therefore ASUS claims that the system stability can be enhanced even further, especially during extreme overclocking.
Totally you'll find four DIMM-slots on the P8Z77 WS Deluxe. Officially supported are DDR3 - 2800 (OC) / 2600 (OC) / 2400 (OC) / 2200 OC / 2133 (OC) / 1866 (OC) / 1600 / 1333 / 1066 with up to 32 GByte capacity. The DIMM-slots are quite close to the CPU socket which might cause some compatibility problems with big coolers especially when you choose to install RAM with big heatspreaders.
The power design is being held at adequate temperatures via a passive heatpipe cooling solution. The PCH is being covered by a passive cooling block. The aluminium blocks around the CPU socket are quite big. In fact they are that big that installing big CPU coolers might be a bit complicated in some cases depending on the coolers clamping mechanism.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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Connectors and I/O
Totally ASUS provided the P8Z77 WS with eight angled SATA ports which should be enough for any office PC, gaming system or workstation setup. You'll also find practical onboard power- and reset-buttons. ASUS even thought of a debug display which is very useful if you should once have issues with one of the components in your system.
Totally you'll find six fan header on the P8Z77 WS which is more than enough, to provide a well equipped midrange or high-end-system with fresh air. The fanheaders are located around the CPU socket as well as at the bottom edge of the mainboard.
Looking at the external connectors directly at the back-panel ASUS provided the P8Z77 WS with four USB 2.0 ports, four USB 3.0 ports, two eSATA 6 Gbps ports, two Intel gigabit ethernet ports, an optical out as well as an analogue audio panel. Furthermore there is also a DVI porta and a USB BIOS Flashback button.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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Conclusion
| Allgemein | + | - | |
| At a first glance ASUS leaves a good impression with its P8Z77 WS Deluxe. Unfortunately there still are some things which could have been done in a better way. Most importantly there are the cooling blocks which keep the current supply at adequate temperatures. They're simply too big which has the consequence that installing several high end aircoolers can be a bit tricky. On the other hand the board looks absolutely marvellous. We very much like the color design and to us it very appealing. | - Design | ||
| Layout | + | - | |
|
Basically the ASUS P8Z77 WS' Layout is well thought. Once more very practical are the angled SATA connectors as well as the power- and reset-buttons. Also the debug display is very useful in case you should have issues with a component in your system or the board itself. Furthermore the placement of the PCI-Express x16 slots is also well thought an therefore nothing needs to be criticized at this point. Unfortunately as we already phrased out in the text above there are some issues if you focus on the CPU socket. The aluminium blocks which keep the current converters cool can cause compatibility problems with high end CPU coolers. Another thing is the DIMM slots. They are also very close to the socket. In this case memory which is equipped with big heatspreaders can also collide with big aircoolers. |
- Angled SATA connectors
- Power/Reset-Button onboard - Debug display - PS/2 |
- Space around CPU socket - DIMM slots close to the CPU socket | |
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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Author: m.buechel@ocaholic.ch